Andy Labrum joined WealthBuilders in 2018 after a 30-year career in the Police force. Since joining, Andy has leveraged the equity in his home to purchase his first buy-to-let property and purchased an under-performing music studio which he has introduced new automated processes to help rejuvenate it and generate £1,000/month virtually hands-free. However, Andy's big success has come by building a community which focuses on providing career guidance and support to current and ex-emergency service workers. As a result, he now has over 10,000 members and has been able to build a business with multiple income streams which has helped him to move from financial insecurity to financial security.
Andy Labrum joined WealthBuilders in 2018 after a 30-year career in the Police force. Since joining, Andy has leveraged the equity in his home to purchase his first buy-to-let property and purchased an under-performing music studio which he has introduced new automated processes to help rejuvenate it and generate £1,000/month virtually hands-free.
However, Andy's big success has come by building a community which focuses on providing career guidance and support to current and ex-emergency service workers. As a result, he now has over 10,000 members and has been able to build a business with multiple income streams which has helped him to move from financial insecurity to financial security.
Resources In This Episode:
>> Blue Light Leavers [Website]
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>> Join the WealthBuilders Academy
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Speaker 1 0:01
The purpose of wealth talk is to educate, inform, and hopefully entertain you on the subject of building your wealth. Wealth builders recommends you should always take independent financial tax or legal advice before making any decisions around your finances.
Christian Rodwell 0:20
Welcome to Episode 197 of wealth talk. My name is Christian Rodwell, the membership director for wealth builders joined today by our founder, Mr. Kevin Whelan.
Unknown Speaker 0:28
Kevin. Cool. So we do and
Christian Rodwell 0:31
this is take two of recording this episode because we were out and about on Friday in London, we were checking out some venues for wealth building meetup events.
Speaker 3 0:42
Yeah, we want to get back into that swing of meeting up with people again, I missed that. I missed the kissing of cheeks and the clinking of glasses and the shaking of hands. I missed that. Chris, I want to get that back soon. I think we've got a nice venue lined up. Right.
Christian Rodwell 0:56
Yeah. So details coming within the next week or two and
Unknown Speaker 0:59
make sure. But we will be going to other parts of the country as
Christian Rodwell 1:02
well. Oh, of course, yes. No, we're going to kick off with London event first. And then we'll be coming to other cities across the UK. And already putting those plans in place as we speak. So So yeah, make sure you are subscribed to the wealth builders mailing list, and we send out a newsletter every Wednesday. So the dates will be announced there. And also in our Facebook group. So just head to Facebook, search for wealth builders, join our group, and you'll you'll be notified. So yeah, looking forward to that. So
Speaker 3 1:32
likewise. And of course, this is number 197.
Christian Rodwell 1:36
It is Yes, last week, I had little slip up anyway, let's move on, and focus on our guest today. So really good to bring another of our Academy members to the podcast, as someone who joined us as a founding member, actually, just coming up five years ago. And Andy labrum is our guest today. And Andy used to work in the police force. So, you know, he had quite a, say, shock to the system. And he'll talk all about that when he left the force and, you know, looked at the corporate world and was able really to take a lot of the skills that he learned from that his own transition, and is now helping many hundreds of people who are in the force and perhaps looking for alternative ways to, you know, change career.
Speaker 3 2:19
Well, I think it's very impressive thing that he's doing. And he signposts the fact that he got connected to a good guide. I think that was you, Chris way back. So he sings your praises a bit. But there's some very interesting lessons to pull out of that. And I guess we should listen to him soon. But, but I do like to just add to the point that so many people, when they making transitions in their life, have a real challenge with a loss of identity. And this is true of anybody. And particularly, we recently had a new core meeting, didn't we, for our new members in the wealth builders Academy. And a number of those people were saying, Hey, I'm new, I'm new, I'm new. And I'm saying, You're not new. The fact that you might be new to the wealth builders Academy, you bring an incredible amount of value already stored up in your life's work your life's experiences. I think it's important to highlight that, that nobody's a newbie. Everybody's got experience doing something. And Andy, I think he had some doubts about where he was going to take this idea. And I'm very pleased to hear that he's made some great successes from that. So maybe you should let us know when he's ready to chat with Andy and listen to what he has to say. And we'll debrief as usual afterwards.
Christian Rodwell 3:47
Yeah, we will indeed. Let's head on over to our conversation today with Andy labrum. Andy, welcome to off talk today. How are you? Yeah,
Speaker 4 3:56
really good. Thanks, Chris. Great to be here and very honoured to be invited to. So thank you for that.
Christian Rodwell 4:02
It was always Coming Out Day. We've just waiting for the right moment where you've been busy man recently. And we're going to hit all about that today. So we first connected quite a few years, but 2018 I think so. You know, I've been privileged to see your, your journey. And we'll be going through our recurring revenue roadmap today, and find out what steps you've taken since joining wealth builders to start building multiple streams of income across the different pillars. But let's take it back. Let's take it back, Andy to, you know, kind of where you were. So before you were a multiple business owner, as you are today. What were you doing kind of 10 years ago where we then
Speaker 4 4:43
yeah, that still sounds ridiculous when you say that, to be honest. It's because I never really saw myself as there's anything like this, but it's so 10 years ago, I was I was still in office and I was Sergeant and the police. And so yeah, we're sort of coming up towards the end of my service now. had really no idea what I was going to do and what my next steps were going to be I'd been in law enforcement since about the age of 18. And prior to that, I worked at Tescos. And that was about it. So I didn't have a degree or anything like that at all. And let's go for us. So, say I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I was policing and, and then retired from the police after doing my for 30 years in early 2015. And I felt very, very lost, I didn't, you know, I'd lost my sense of identity that or just all I'd ever known, and used to lose touch with you with a few mates and that sort of thing as well. So I was very, very lost, but, but most to get into a project management role. And, and then from project management, I then moved into something called business change. And I was working in the corporate world, and I'm really enjoying it. But I think leaving, leaving policing, because it was so restrictive, it was very, very controlling. It just gave me an opportunity to start thinking a little bit more about what I could potentially do. And the other thing I was very conscious of as well was that, you know, I had a good pension from policing and sales sergeants, and I've been doing it a long time. So I was very, very lucky, very fortunate and had a good pension from it. And I've been paid out with that pension. And I've pretty much blown it with sort of, we'd invested in the house. And we live in a very old cottage. And so I put money into the house to update it and took a holiday took my family, Claire and the kids to Disney World and sort of three weeks over their trip of a lifetime, all that sort of stuff and, and suddenly realised that something that I'd spent 30 years working towards, was disappearing very, very quickly. And I had no structure I had knowledge, I was literally just going from one career straight into another career at the age of 4849. And no security in any way, shape or forms. So that's really where I was at sort of 10 years ago and moving into the last few years. Really, I guess.
Christian Rodwell 7:11
So when you're at that point, then Andy, can you remember? What were the first steps he started to take to kind of, you know, I guess, look, look forward to that what else you could do? Yeah,
Speaker 4 7:23
yeah, well, I think I've always had this entrepreneurial spirit. And that always had something in me that I thought, I wonder what I could do. And, you know, sort of how far I could go. So which is one of the reasons why, you know, I wanted a career post policing, but also from an entrepreneurial perspective as well. You know, I sort of I sort of dabbled in in the 90s. I've dabbled in multilevel marketing and just sort of, you know, just self working with, you know, self improvement and these sort of things as well, you know, a lot of listening to tapes and reading books and this sort of stuff. And so it had a bit of an impact. And, but I hadn't really done anything with it until, I guess around about 2018. And I was again, I was I felt like I was back in the hamster wheel really. And, you know, I've gone from one long term career and then I was gonna move into another career with a not really sure about what I was going to do. So I started listening to podcasts, of course, escape the rat race, with some political Christian Rodwell on his own. And we ended up having a conversation we did. Yeah, yeah. And it's quite surreal, actually. And when you listen to someone on a podcast for a while, and then you actually have a conversation with them in real life, it's always a bit starstruck. And you've got to say, you, you've had a, such a massive influence in what I've done since and obviously wealth builders and Kevin O'Neill, which we'll go into in a little bit later, but, you know, I feel incredibly lucky to have to have come across you. And, and wealth builders came just at the right time. And you know, you're not having that conversation. And if you remember, at that time, I'd been outside of policing for a while, and I got a reputation for doing okay, you know, I was doing outside, outside of listening quite well. And so people got in contact and people that I used to work with saying, Oh, can you give us a hand and, you know, I'm thinking of applying for a job or I'm retiring, can you give us a hand, so help to receive ease and interview prep, and that sort of stuff, and has some success through that, but never really thought of that as, as anything more than just helping a few mates? And it was until you and I had that conversation? To say, Well, you know, and we you know, we did some work around if you get aligned some other areas as well to sort of try and identify, you know, what I like doing the areas that I'm strong in and and that came up was, you know, have you thought about doing this on a bigger scale and it was really about conversation with you that really pushed her.
Christian Rodwell 9:53
Yeah, but I appreciate that Andy and yeah, that's I remember that call so vividly exactly where it was when we spoke. And, you know, there was a little bit of fear and uncertainty definitely about taking that step. And the great thing is, you know, we've all have that experience, you know, you really had a tight niche there. And that's something that, you know, Kevin talks about a lot when it comes to building a successful business is always start with a tight niche if you can, and yours definitely was very targeted. So we'll hear more about kind of where that led, I suppose. But you mentioned, obviously, you joined us in wealth builders, when we launched that was around about 2019. With the Academy with the founder members, and the guests, we've always got to think about what's the why, you know, what's the angle? Did you have any kind of anything driving you? You know, that was deeper that, you know, talked about, obviously, the pension was was, you know, sort of dwindling? Quite quickly, would you say there was any other catalysts that was a determining factor at that time,
Speaker 4 10:57
it was very much based around my circumstances, and realising all of a sudden that having had that long term career. And, you know, I'd got to the point of that pension, that I was back on the, like I said, earlier, I was back on that hamster wheel, again, with no end in sight. And what I wanted to do is, you know, to be able to really develop a lifestyle and some security and some income, you know, I'm getting older, I'm sort of, you know, I'm well into my 50s. And, and I didn't want to be working forever, and particularly for working for someone else. And I think, you know, the shackles were off. And so the first time in my life actually felt that, you know, I could potentially do something very, very different. And so, and so that there were no specific catalysts, you know, I didn't have any life changing events or anything like that at all, it was nothing specific, but it was very much a realisation of, right, this is it. And actually, I've only got maybe 20 years of working left, and I don't necessarily want to work for next 20 years doing what I'm doing, I'd rather if I'm going to work, I want to be my own boss, and actually look at ways of bringing in income from different streams and just try things differently, be more entrepreneurial, be more creative, and this thing that have been in me for years and years and years, that I've never been able to really do anything with. And, and that's really how it came about. And so from a timing perspective, it was absolutely perfect. For me,
Christian Rodwell 12:24
I can imagine a lot of people listening now. And D, will be nodding their heads and thinking yeah, the same, the same thing. It's like, I know, I want to do this, I know I've got it within me. And if I don't do something about it, now, it might never happen. And unfortunately, a lot of people let that moment pass by, and then look, bandwidth, some regret. And you're a shining example, as we're going to hear of, if you take action, what's possible. So let's, before we get into the details of how you started to generate some income, and where you began to do that, we have a foundation, we have a process, obviously in place, and we've got three stages of our recurring revenue roadmap and, and stage one is all about building confidence. And it's, as I say, putting those foundations in, it's about reviewing money in money out, but also making sure we've got a firm watertight roof on top. And that's all about protecting yourself, your family, your assets. Were there any aspects of going through that process, Andy that, that you realise you you hadn't paid so much attention to?
Speaker 4 13:26
Just a bit. So the big one, for me was that, you know, bearing in mind this type of working environment, I'll start out in the firearms team in sort of quite confrontational roles and very frontline for for almost all my service. And it wasn't until sort of conversations with you and obviously listening to the, you know, to the podcast and doing the modules that I thought actually I probably need to get a will in place. So, you know, I was actually after I left policing and you know Jim wealth builders that actually ignorable in place so it's those little things you know, LPA is lost in power of attorneys, those sort of things as well, we're making progress on the other big one for me, the big mistake was not having that in place. And that could have been really difficult really challenging and, and that's why you know, the education side if you like, actually worked your way through the modules another programme is actually so so important because it was on your as a result of that I thought, I really seriously need to sort myself out and and, you know, Kevin, in the information that Kevin gives them within the podcast as well is invaluable, you know, I've learned so much and, you know, you're out walking the dog or whatever, and you suddenly think, yeah, I better need, you know, I better put that in place, I need to do that or, you know, so, you know, tenancy in common, those sort of things as well. So there's all these little things that amazing nuggets of information that are out there for free. Or to, you know, obviously to get more than just joined joining the wealth builders. scroll. So you're actually understanding more as well. But the wheel was the biggie for me for us. Good.
Christian Rodwell 15:04
Well, well done for getting that in place. And that is to say that that kind of gives you a firm foundation and gives you peace of mind, right? Which is really important, because the next stage of the roadmap is all about building knowledge, and then building assets. And building in knowledge, stage two is where we start to look at the Seven Pillars of Wealth. So let's just go through each of those seven pillars, Andy, and let's see kind of, you know, what have you currently got now? So, the first pillar is home capacity. So have you done any fear?
Speaker 4 15:35
So what you do? Yeah, absolutely. So again, this was this was down to two conversations within Halfpenny and and, you know, the advice, you know, as my coach and wealth builders coach has been exceptional. And so we actually used some of the equity in the house. And we've bought a property as a result of that looking at a second as well. So when, and that's been great. That was a, you know, the learning that we've picked up from that as well. And, you know, having him there is that point of reference, and, you know, being able to use his guidance and expertise was absolutely invaluable. So, so yeah, home capacity was was certainly one that we've used so far. Excellent. Pillar two is pensions. Yeah. So slightly different from the eye because of what a public sector pension and so I couldn't, you know, go to SAS or anything like that at all. So, but I do get my pension. And obviously, that's, that is something on the receipt off, so I get monthly pension. Okay,
Christian Rodwell 16:33
so there's a recurring income stream that obviously was already was already flowing. And pillar three, the third of our, what we call traditional pillars, that's the investment pillar. So is that been a primary pillar for you? No,
Speaker 4 16:45
no, I've dabbled, but nothing, nothing significant. I've got an ICER, but nothing more than that.
Christian Rodwell 16:49
Okay. So then we move into pillars 456, and seven, and this is where the exciting pillars this way can have more control, you can get really good returns on your money. So property portfolio is pillar number four. So have you been able to build anything within this pillar? Andy?
Speaker 4 17:07
Yeah, so the the flats are saved through, you know, through using equity in the house. And with that, with purchases, bring in recurring income as well, I've got an amazing tenant in there as well. And, and again, you know, I said that, you know, support from him was was fantastic with that. And we have a little bit extra aside with just the one we just pause for a moment just to see what happens, you know, after sort of the the challenges with the interest rates, and that sort of thing. So we're just seeing what happens for a short time. But so but we're looking at our second property as well.
Christian Rodwell 17:36
So pillar five is business, this is where things really start to get exciting. So tell us about what activity has been happening here.
Speaker 4 17:44
Yeah, certainly so. So basically, as a result of a conversation with you that started off with just those first couple of referrals, if you like people getting in touch, and you know, that grew and grew very organically in 2019, and created a limited company called blue light levers, which is specifically to help coach and mentor, and guide and inspire people from emergency services to find secondary or find new careers. And whether it's on retirement or whether they're disillusioned, and they want to move on whether it's that better work life balance. And that has grown. It's grown staggering me to be honest, to the point where, back in April, we held a big Expo up in Birmingham with some exhibitors, and keynote speakers. And, you know, we had the whole of them learning points at Birmingham, an extraordinary event. terrifying, but an amazing event. And we've got a community of over 10,000 people, and it would actually be a lot more than that. But we're really strict about who joins it. So we turn away around about 40% of people who are asked to join that group, because we keep it really safe and secure. We've got a podcast, there's a result of that as well. And and then all the signs also have been having a danger. So I'll still be in full time day job as well. So it creatively levers and sort of built that on the side. And we'll go into some other parts of that as well, shortly, but at the age of 48, I'd always wanted to be a drummer, I saw Queensway life. When I was a kid, and Roger Taylor was my hero. I always wanted to be a drummer, but because of being you know, working shifts, and weekends and stuff like that, you know, it's just impossible to do that sort of thing. So, when I left policing at the age of 48, I picked up some drumsticks and never had any lessons. But ended up playing in a covers band. I'm probably not the best drummer in the band even but it doesn't matter. I don't care. I'm still playing so. And so yeah, that's great. And that's grown as well, you know, so we do weddings and parties and loads different and lots of pubs and things as well. So that was a bit of a lifelong ambition. But the place that we used for our rehearsals, or your works, Rehearsal Studios, and during COVID closed was actually an enclosed fully and it's such an amazing In space, it had a fantastic reputation across the town anyway. And, you know, the equipment, nothing else was there. And so I spoke to the guy who was who was looking to close it up and and made an offer and initially said no. So I made a slight counter or he came back with the counter offer, as I spoke to Claire about him on my behalf, and we thought, yeah, just let's just give it a go. You know, I've been running for 11 years, it had a fantastic reputation said and everything was there. So we literally bought it, this was October 2020. Thinking that COVID will be done and dusted by March 21. Of course, it took another year. So that was that was the exciting period, but but audio works there was there was a mezzanine floor that was just used as a bit of a junk room. And it was very labour intensive, you had to be there, you had to open up you had to, you know, set the rooms up, take payment, and everything was very manual. And with the upstairs mezzanine floor, I thought okay, well that that will make a fantastic office space. So converted it put a new ceiling in amazing lighting, use of LEDs, desks, TV on the wall, carpeted heating. And within a very short period of time, rented that out to local charity, at a really good rate, you know for them, because that was something I was very, very conscious of wanting to be for the right reasons. And so they have their own space. So now that's used every day during the daytime. And the studio itself, processes in place now where everything is systemized so it doesn't actually need any staff. Other than one guy who's amazing call Clinton who goes in, he does the cleaning up and setting up for the next day. But have put systems in place where the booking is all completely automated, they get a automated text message that gives them an automated changing door code. So they tap tapping the door code to get in. And there's a pay station at the desk. So they pay by card and they can split the bill and everything else, you know, when they use it as well. So, so everything's automated, it's completely hands off. Now it took about 15 months and I get in are still working full time. And they're really intense. As head of modern workplace technology for a particular organisation is really intense job. And I would literally finish at six, seven o'clock. And I would have to just grab a ready meal pill straight over to all your works, open up, set up, put everything in place, stay there all night, set up for the next day, lock up, come back, get up for the day job the next day. And that was about a year, 15 months, before we're able to get all of the systems in place that made it completely hands off. But it is completely hands off now. And that does bring in a really nice recurring income. As a result of that it did take some time and effort and it took some investment. But it was more than paid for itself. So so that from you know, it was an amazing customer drumkit. And you know, at home so Claire's happy as well. And so that was great. And that game is a result of playing in the vans as I say so. So there's lots of different things that lead on to something else. Levers and all your works obviously the property as well.
Christian Rodwell 23:14
Yeah, brilliant. So two good businesses there. And the next pillar is intellectual property. So certainly for blue light levers, you really touched on the fact there that you've got a podcast now, you've got your Facebook group, you've created courses, you're running a membership programme, so it really building a brand, a personal brand and a company brand and product brand. How are you seeing the IP being able to grow and monetize further?
Speaker 4 23:43
Yeah, certainly. So we, you know, we have got some amazing relationships with some, some brilliant partners. And we know we're sort of moving to the next pillar really a little bit we've got go affiliate relationships, and different referral fees, placement fees with recruiters. So there's, there is some fantastic opportunities there as well, I think to to grow that even more and see it and I'm really excited about that. But it's and the membership has been amazing. And that's, you know, that's continuing to grow as well. And as a paid monthly subscription membership through that as well. So, so yeah, very, very happy.
Christian Rodwell 24:22
Yeah, that's good. And that's typically what we say, you know, when someone creates a business that they'll then be spin offs into other pillars such as IP, so, you know, having success and being able to help others teach others, you know, formulate that process. So, so, you know, a great example of diversification across multiple pillars there, Andy, but, of course, as you've said, the you know, it doesn't happen immediately. And, you know, I think it's important for us to kind of be honest, and, you know, perhaps share some of your, I guess, you know, highs and lows along the way, and because there'll be people listening who perhaps you know, have have kind of fallen off the waggon, shall we say, you know, As they feel like they're drifting again, did you ever feel, you know, in the last five years, was there a point where you felt you weren't making any progress? And you know, was there a particular event that then helped you kind of kick back into into gear? Yeah, yeah, there
Speaker 4 25:13
really was in. And actually, you get it. And I think, you know, for a lot of people listening, and I know a lot of people within the community as well, you know, they'll be doing building something alongside the day job. And sometimes life can really get in the way, there's life events, or whether it's, you know, three career changes, or whatever it might be. And I think the biggest one for me was, was actually taken on that, that role within a tech organisation. And it was the first time that probably ever been done within that organisation. And so it's kind of a huge amount of responsibility. And I took my foot off the gas in terms of my own personal development, and developing blue light levers and building, you know, further relationships. And, you know, it, it was a 7:30am to 10:30pm type of role it was, it was really intense, and I was trying to build audio works alongside that as well. Get that in place. And so from a wealth building perspective, there was activities taking place, but I stopped speaking to em in I wasn't going to cause I'd stop the podcast, it was just there was so much other stuff going on that actually take the foot off the gas a little bit. And it did get to the point where I thought this is unclear, you know, really, clearly, this is unsustainable, you need to make some changes, because it's not fair on us. It's not fair on you, you know, if I was so close to burnout, and so I got back in touch with a and and said, Look, you know, what, what can we do, and that's really when the property journey started, as well and get back on track. And the guidance, and obviously, you and I've had conversations as well, Chris had been incredibly helpful. And but I needed that it was almost, you know, I got to the point where I knew I was almost making myself ill, as a result of everything else that was going on trying to do too much. And I needed to just refocus, get someone with a fresh, you know, viewpoint to say, Look, why don't you do this? This is what probably work best for you, and what can we put in place. And you know, when we look at things like, you know, the foundation that we talked about, and, you know, when I started, I was very much in that financial insecurity space. As a result of what, you know, the conversations I've had with Ian and the coaching and mentoring and the conversations that I've had with you, you know, thankfully, we're now in that financial security, you know, we're in a much better place. And that is a result of getting back in touch with stopping drifting, basically. And as you're having the conversations with, with yourself and Ian to say, when's the right time? When can I go all in? On this on my business interests? when's the right time? And we did it, we taped it, if you remember, sorry, excuse me. We taped it, if you remember, we, you know, went from five days to four days, and four days to three days. And then, you know, we had the conversation. So right, this is what's coming into a recurring This is the earning potential, now's the time sort of thing. And it was only as a result of getting back into sort of getting back in touch with Ian and actually think let's put some structure back in stopping drifting, but that that was what made the difference.
Christian Rodwell 28:08
incredible milestone to, you know, finally, you know, have that last day at work hand in your notice. When was that Memorable Date for you, Andy?
Unknown Speaker 28:21
It was 30 end of April. Officially, so So you know, not that long ago. So it was actually mid April was was the was the final day?
Speaker 4 28:35
And so yeah, it was, yeah, it was it was it was amazing, actually, and mildly terrifying as well, having been in a full time career, you know, for such a long time for for all my life really from sort of 17 onwards. And being an employee, it was, it's a bit of a bottle test to go it alone. But if I hadn't have done the work that I had with Ian and yourself and, you know, worked my way through the programme, and actually, you know, looks at these different income streams, and what could we potentially do, and doing my due diligence, diligence, and all these sort of things that you know, the really important stuff will WellStar iterate if they I think I'll just be stuck in corporate still. And, you know, still thinking I'm gonna be working along some sort of, you know, so it's really as a result of wealth builders. I'm very, very fortunate in a position that I am now,
Christian Rodwell 29:27
though you've done incredibly well, the future's bright and the future is blue. In your case. We talked to you mentioned there about, you know, the progress you've made on the levels, levels of wealth. So we've got five levels of wealth. Most people unfortunately find themselves at financial insecurity, it means they're not generating enough money from assets each month to cover their outgoings. So the first target is to get to security is to make sure you've got enough coming in from your, your different pillars. So that that movement from insecurity to security, what was What's that gentleman Waiting for you approximately each month now, Andy?
Speaker 4 30:03
Yeah, certainly. Yeah. So there's different pillars, as you say, that are bringing different income streams in both through affiliate links through referrals, through agreements with recruiters through the deep paid subscription, and the membership that we've got through audio works that hands off business as well with with Rehearsal Studios, with our property, and with the police pension as well, where the five to five and a half k per month as a result of Yeah,
Christian Rodwell 30:37
I mean, that's absolutely brilliant. And, you know, that's, that's within about five years. And as you say, you had periods where it was, you know, you perhaps weren't on on full throttle because of a busy day job. And then that's natural. That's natural. I think a lot of people have those periods as well. So really incredible. Andy, where does that put you now, in terms of your own personal confidence? You know, where do you see things moving? Now? Do you feel like you've built up momentum? And what does next kind of two, three years look like for you? Yeah,
Speaker 4 31:09
I'm really keen to, to do more with the partnerships, we've got some amazing partnerships now with military organisations that were purely for military transition previously, that are now working alongside Bula levers, and we've got career paths, and course providers. You know, there are, there are so many opportunities in terms of people who feel like they are completely institutionalised, and really under the cosh. And we're now able to offer people I say, those complete career paths and into organisations retraining, for free, even getting paid while you train all these amazing opportunities, through these other joint ventures and partnerships, and for me, it's going to be more of the same, it's going to be less to develop more of those getting more formal agreements in place. And obviously, we're looking into the property as well of buying a second property as well. You know, audio works is as it is, it just ticks over nicely with with, you know, it's completely hands off. And looking to really grow the membership as well, I think there is so for for a low cost, low fee, and no tie in subscription. You know, people have amazing content, they have the ability to, you know, to ask questions from people who've been there and done it and live calls and all this sort of stuff. So it's, you know, there's, there's a lot to do. We had the expo, as I said, I've been Birmingham at the end of 20, April 23. And we're already talking about next year, initially, if you'd asked me beforehand, would I do it again, and I'm hoping help. But having done it, and the feedback that we had, is just been extraordinary from both exhibitors and from people who attended as well. So we'll be doing another expert events. So you know, developing the community, the community is such a huge part of it. And I know, you know, it's really important for you as well, but, you know, developing that community, that safe place for people to be and to be able to offer them opportunities and give them you know, there's so much free guidance and support. And there's paid support and guidance, depending on what people need as well, different levels as well. So it's developing that developing those relationships, those partnerships and an IP as well. You know, there's other things I want to do in any IP pillars. Yeah,
Christian Rodwell 33:29
well, I'll just pick up on that point, Andy to finish things off and say, from an outsider looking in, right, and having seen you start the blue light levers, Facebook group, and build that community from, you know, a handful of people to 10,000, which you have today, it single handedly down to your leadership, and you have been religiously, in that group day in day out, helping people absolutely, you know, unequivocally just giving of your time of your experience, making sure any bad eggs that slip in there quickly thrown out any comments that perhaps don't fit the rules of the group, you know, you're on it. And, you know, any community needs leadership, and you've been a shining example and your posts within that Facebook group. I mean, I've never seen engagement like it, you get 8090 comments, you'd get hundreds of likes, on every single post pretty much. It's just through the roof. And and you're still showing up, you know, day in day out. And yeah, testament to you, Andy, you know, that is why you are where you are today. And, you know, I know that all of your members within your group in your community, you know, really, really treasure having you there to help them. So continue to do the great work that you do. And I hope that those podcasts will spread that word to a few more people that will come and seek you out. So So where should they head Andy if people want to find out a bit more about blue light levers and
Speaker 4 34:56
Yeah, certainly. Thanks for that. Yeah, and just It is really important, though, you know, it isn't just me, it we are where we are because of the guidance and support that you've given Chris. And as Kevin and Kevin as well, you know, I've got to reiterate that because, you know, from a family perspective and from, you know, legacy for the kids and all these sort of things, it's, it's as the result of conversations with you, and have you tried this? And what about this, and, you know, that that is, we are where we are because of the conversations and, and the relationships that, that we build through wealth builders. And, you know, I'm very far I am leveraging as well. So I've got, you know, the PA and VA and some other people are helping out as well. And, you know, so that's, it's, it's not just down to me, that is lovely being there. And it's great that you said that there's a lot more behind the scenes that makes it what it is, and, and yeah, it's it's a lovely position to be in to be able to signpost help and support those who really need it, who are under the caution, and many of whom are really struggling with PTSD and a lot worse. So if you want to find out more than we've got blue light leavers.com is the place to go and run social media. We've got a private Facebook group as well called blue light levers, and on a business pages there as well. And there's loads of free resources on the website. And obviously, there's a blue light leavers podcast as well, which is, which is across all podcast providers, so say, great to see people there as well.
Christian Rodwell 36:25
Yeah. Okay. Keep up the good work. Andy, great to have you on TV. Well,
Unknown Speaker 36:29
thanks very much, Chris. Yeah, lovely credits over to you. Thanks so much.
Christian Rodwell 36:33
Okay, so you could tell Andy and I go back a little bit there. And it was, you know, it's just been great to see Andy's rise over the last few years. And really following the wealth building principles, building recurring income across multiple pillars. That's what we teach and diversifying. So you never rely on one source of income. And of course, when you're coming from a job, or, you know, anyone listening now, who's working nine to five, and that one source of income is precarious is you know, it's not secure?
Speaker 3 37:02
Well, similarly, in a business, most business owners are trading an income stream for a service or a product. So they tend to rely exclusively on that. And I'm speaking, what those are today. Now Monday, I'm speaking on Wednesday, had an event which is all about business owners, and how they can create streams of income in addition to what they're doing now. So I'm delighted to be invited to speak at that. But business owners fall into the same trap of often relying extensively, and in some cases exclusively on a single source of income. So it was so pleasing, to hear Andy talk about the importance to him of diversification. And good good on him that he didn't try and tick all the seven boxes in one go. But he did touch on pretty much most of the pillars there because he did
Christian Rodwell 37:55
Yes. And I think IP is an interesting one, this net, Kevin, you know, it often takes time for someone really to, I guess, identify the value of their intellectual property. And, Andy, as you say, he had experience there. And he's been able to now build different income streams from the IP. So podcasting from a Facebook group from creating courses, but building that identity, him as his personal brand, but also now this company brand with the blue light levers community that he has, and what
Speaker 3 38:24
a great name. You know, I love that idea that he can help people bridge the gap. And this is the essence of wealth building. Chris, I mean, there's a distinction I'd like to make here, I think I might have made a similar distinction, but perhaps not quite as narrow when I talked about the 100 year life, and that more and more of us are living longer and longer and longer. And that means there going to be many transitions in our life. So going through different transitions means you can sometimes spot well as times are changing. As circumstances are changing as tax rules are changing as politics is changing. In crumbs, we've seen a lot of that. What did we have last year? Was it four Chancellor's, three prime ministers and two monarchs all in one year? Oh, my goodness mean, head off, you know, you got to look at change, and see the opportunities for that change. And Andy's done a great job. And he felt the pain himself as he was transitioning from the police. And I think he had an identity crisis there. For sure. And a little bit of impostor syndrome, maybe at the start, when he was saying how could people possibly want to pay me for my knowledge and, and so on. But but in the end, you know, he fought through that and is delivered an outcome for other people in multiple ways. So good for him. But look, everybody's creating IP at the beginning when you have IP and the reason why I say that is everybody's got it. It's their own intellectual property. Just as David Beckham has his own rights to his properties, images, you have the right to what's inside your head. Now for the most part, people don't appreciate that they sell their IP, or in fact, they give it away is a principle known as IP plus t. And if I've explained that one to you before, so you have, like your number, okay? So IP is your intellectual property. When you sell that on a time for money basis, IP plus t, it means you given your IP away to an employer, okay? Okay, right, right. So the value of your IP they keep. When you become a business owner, your IP becomes yours. So you've got IP times L leverage, what's the way you can leverage your IP? Now, of course, it's possible to be an intrapreneur and go to your boss in a company and say, Hey, I've got this brilliant idea, can I get a share of the value that's created? But most people don't do that. It's only when you're forced to a transition. When you have to look at that and say, well, now I've got this intellectual property I used to give it away. What can I now do with that, that adds value to either a pillar, which could be business, it could be the way you do property, it could be the way you create joint ventures. It could be anything really. But as long as you apply your brainpower said, Well, what do I do that uniquely me, which means a bit of self analysis, a bit of introspection. Now, of course, in what builds Academy, we ask people to do their wealth dynamic, which is all about what keeps them in flow. But I'd also suggest you take time to look at well, what's your DNA? Who are you? What are your values? What are the things you care about? What are the things you still have dreams and ambitions about an Andy picked that up didn't, he fortunately, linked one of his old ambitions about being a drummer, into turning that into not just, he had enough money to get the old drum kit and then have a place to store the drum kit. So he didn't give me a right to the missus. But he turned that into a bit of an ambition as well. That was great.
Christian Rodwell 42:10
Exactly. He bought his own Rehearsal Studios that he was using, and use leverage very, very well in terms of Systemising that business so that it really doesn't require any of his time now and generates a good 1000 pounds a month for him recurring Exactly.
Speaker 3 42:23
Now, I don't know if you know this, Chris, but I was a drummer in my day.
Christian Rodwell 42:29
kyphosis, you
Speaker 3 42:31
know, I was I played drums in orchestra when I was at school. Okay, I didn't, yeah, and I played drums at university as well, in a band. We were shit. And I was not a good drummer. But I could play. You know, my kids often will tell the tale of me always sort of tapping my fingers on on the steering wheel. So took them to school. And my wife says, you know, stop, tap, tap, tap. And she says to me, because I'm always giving it a bit of a little bit of drum flavour. Phil Collins. Yeah. And you know, I don't have a drum kit anymore. But I do like a good drum riff. I've got to say, anyway, good digressing. You've got to know what you really like. And he definitely picked up on that didn't that opportunity into get into not just the drumming and playing, but also to have the recording studio? I mean, that's, that's a find. And when those fines come up with because you're open minded to new opportunities, and I think you should be commended for that.
Christian Rodwell 43:24
Yeah. Yeah. And there's been other examples of where anti sport leverage into play. I mean, with, again, the intellectual leverage there of having already been through a process moving out of the police force, understanding the corporate world and you know, how you need to present yourself and create write CVS and, and that's intellectual leverage, right. So that's being able to monetize that. But also now with his business, he's leveraging systems we've just said that with the studio, but now leveraging a team and people so he's now got VAs working for him. And, and again, that's just a natural kind of progression of where Andy's at.
Speaker 3 44:02
Yeah, so you know, good interview with Andy very much enjoyed that. And what we are all we said at the beginning, we did a double take. Didn't we have an interesting thing when we were going looking for some, somewhere we went to a venue to check it out, but we also had a bite to eat. And as we were in the tube, we bumped into a couple of people. Well, it has like, this bloke was looking at me straight up and down is almost like, Why are you staring at me? You know, what have I done? You know, and this was so bizarre, man. Chola Yeah, right. So
Christian Rodwell 44:37
the doors of the tube open? Yeah, we stepped on he stepped off and then he went Kevin, Chris, and
Speaker 3 44:42
I'm like, Oh, right. Okay, so what you know, well build the connections and and then when the doors closed, we have another one. So
Christian Rodwell 44:49
it was it was it was Yeah, unique moment but so good. That, you know, we're obviously spreading the word. And whilst that was just, you know, one tube in London then, you know, hopefully, she'll join this podcast, you'll help us spread that word even further.
Speaker 3 45:04
Yeah, and definitely come and see us if you can, so that we can not just bump into people randomly, but actually have some good venues in north, south, east and west of the UK. So you can come and meet with us and, and share what you're doing. Because, you know, we believe everybody's got the right to be financially independent. And speaking, as I said before, Chris, and a life that we lead that is getting longer and longer and longer. We owe that to ourselves, not to run out of money. And so many people are now running out of money in their 70s. And, therefore, not just damaging their own quality of life, but leaving a much worse legacy as a result of that. And I want to put a stop to that. So it's really important for me, for people to pay attention to that idea. And to get involved with not just making sure you've got enough money. And if you've got think about this, if you've got a certain sum of money, and you spend that money over your lifetime, and most people do with their pension, they don't get a pension that pays them a fixed income anymore, they've got a pot of money they've got to make last, if you live was in our mid 80s, you live to 90, you're going to run out of money. And most people are drawing at twice the level, they should do all the statistics show that. Whereas if you build independent streams of income, income that will flow, whether you're there or not, the money shows up, you don't need to, you can live to 200, it doesn't matter. Because the money still flows, it's really important concept to get that life is about time and the gift of time would have been longer was great. But you can have money, or have less money when you're young, you can cope with it. You still got hope you still got time when you're older, you can't. So if you're over 50, and listen to this, get in touch, we'll help you make sure you've got a very clear and robust plan not to run out of money as we're seeing so many people do. All right.
Christian Rodwell 47:13
Yeah, yeah. And easiest way, if you just want to get in touch and just book a call with us is to head to wealth builders.co.uk forward slash discovery call. Grab a slot bucket book a time and yeah, we can we can see where you are right now and how we can help you get to where you want to get to a little bit faster, hopefully. Yeah. Okay, good. So hopefully by next week, Kevin will have a date for that first London, or that next London meetup event. And I guess we'll catch up Same time, same place next week. And as we did a catch up, we didn't do a review this week. I don't have that to hand but we'll we'll definitely
Speaker 3 47:48
we'll pick out a clip often from next time. And so until next time, my friend, I'll see ya.
Speaker 1 47:57
We hope you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget that we are constantly updating our resources inside a wealth builders membership site to help you create, build and protect your wealth. Head over to wealth builders.co.uk/membership right now for free access. That's wealth builders.co.uk/membership